Chapter Four

“Are you ever going to let me out of your apartments?” Aras asked the next day as we lay entwined in bed after our latest round of mating.

“After I feel you've done enough penance perhaps,” I said lightly.

You cannot tell him, the Eye said.

I had weakened several times already, but the Eye had been there to speak some reason into my head for every instance. I was getting tired of hearing her voice while I was getting intimate with my mate.

I know! Now, fuck off! I snarled silently.

Well, as long as you're sure you won't tell him.

I won't!

Fine. The Eye left. Again.

I knew she was never far away. Privacy was an illusion she gave me to preserve my dignity. But if I started to tell Aras who he was to me, I was certain the Eye would immediately start shouting in my mind.

“Penance, eh?” Aras asked as he lightly drew his claws down my hip. He sliced me, and I hissed. “Oops.” He bent his head and licked the wound, aiding my immortality with his saliva. Hulfrin saliva possessed a blood coagulant. When Aras lifted his head, he grinned and said, “I suppose I'll have to do more penance now.”

I brushed his thick hair back and drew my hand down his face to the angle of his jaw. “You can start by bathing me.” I got up and headed for the bathroom. “We could both benefit from a bath.”

Aras laughed and bounded ahead of me. “Yes, Your Majesty!”

The water was running before I stepped into the bathroom. And there was my mate, naked and bent over the tub, the sleek lines of his body extending into his twitching tail. He had his claws retracted too. Both were signs of a happy, secure Hulfrin.

Was Aras feeling my pleasure through our bond? Did he sense how important he was to me? If he had been a Dragon, I wouldn't have been able to hide it from him. Even if he hadn't known about the mating process, he would have felt the bond settle and he would have known we were united forever.

I wasn't sure how it would be with a Hulfrin.

At least they were more primal than say, an Argaiv or an Eljaffna. A Hulfrin would have some instinct to guide him. But I couldn't let Aras's instincts take him too far in the right direction. As soon as that pirate surfaced and led me to the Eye, I would tell Aras everything. Until then, I had to trust in the magic to keep him by my side.

The magic certainly had me bound. Was the Goddess laughing at me? I had just been plotting to use a mating bond against a Sea Dragon. But no, she'd approve of that. The Sea Dragons weren't her children. And I had also been jealous of Vaxarion. So maybe she wasn't laughing at me so much as laughing with me.

Whoever was laughing, I now found myself feeling the very things that King Vaxarion was doubtless experiencing. Lust was a given, but there were also urges to protect and care. Seeing Aras happy filled my chest with a warm, shivering feeling that I couldn't name. I didn't want to keep this from him. I wanted to tell him everything and the Eye be damned.

I took a step forward.

I will not be damned, but you shall be, the Eye said.

And then I heard screams. The bathroom vanished, replaced by a battlefield. I went still, knowing it wasn't real, but afraid to move. Dragons filled the sky, their roars like thunder, echoing down to vibrate through the ground. Fire blasted the ground troops. More screams came along with the smell of burning flesh.

“What the fuck?” I whispered.

“Ly?” Aras called to me.

I turned, seeing red out of the corner of my eye. At first, I thought it was merely my hair. I've always been proud of the rare color. But I wasn't in my man's body. The red was my dragon's scales. And fire. And blood.

“Lyrandir!” Aras, who I couldn't see, shook me.

Without me, you will never keep your crown, the Eye went on. My name is not Ensarena's Eye merely because I am a piece of her Fire Magic. I can also see—the past, the present, and the future. Your future is bleak without me, King Lyrandir. Your dread may have accepted your reign for centuries, but they will not continue to do so. They have been searching for an excuse to dethrone you and they will find one soon. No one wants you as their king.

They would not dare to come against me! I shouted in my mind. Whatever they think, I won the crown tourney. I am their king.

They don't care about that anymore, and you know it's the truth. They will plot against you. But with me, you can secure your throne and any other you may desire.

What does that mean?

You could rule all the kingdoms of Serai, Lyrandir.

Why would I want that?

To protect yourself and your mate. Rule the world and you have absolute security.

My dragon roared at the threat against our mate and my mind shivered. If someone had said those things to me in person, I would have laughed at them. Or tore them apart. But this was a piece of the Goddess. It was as if she spoke into my mind. And I could not ignore her. As the voice slithered through my brain, the battlefield changed to a mountaintop. Aras stood beside me dressed in fine garments befitting a Duke, and I wore a new crown as I surveyed a kingdom without borders. It was all mine now. The entire world.

“Now, the seas,” I said in my vision.

“Ly, please,” Aras turned toward me, suddenly insecure. His eyes were sad. But then his clothing vanished, and he suddenly stood directly before me, gripping my arms. “Tell me what's wrong. Should I get a physician?”

“No,” I whispered as reality returned. Or maybe I should call it the present versus the future. “No, I'm fine.” Silently, I said, I won't tell him. Now leave me be!

Very well. But know that I only want your triumph, Lyrandir. And I know the best path to achieve success. Telling Aras he's your mate will take you off that path.

Yes, all right!

I will allow this disrespect once since you are in the middle of mating. But never speak to me like this again. And then she was gone, leaving shivers over my skin.

I'd heard the stories about our Goddess and her rage. She had incinerated a Dragon king and his knights for opposing her. Seconds. That's all it took for her to kill one of the most powerful Dragons on Serai. It was not wise to court her anger, even through an amulet. And then there was the power it could give me. If the Goddess could obliterate Dragons so easily, even the tiniest piece of her magic could indeed make me the King of Serai.

“What happened?” Aras demanded. “You were staring off at nothing and then you said something about the ocean.”

“I . . .” Oh, fuck. How could I explain this? I stalled by asking, “Did you call me 'Lie?'”

“Ly, short for Lyrandir. Is that all right?”

I pretended to consider it, using the opportunity to come up with an excuse for my crazy behavior. “I suppose it's charming.”

“Good. Now, answer my question. What the fuck just happened?”

“I haven't been getting much sleep lately. The Eye has consumed me.”

Well, wasn't that the truth?

Aras cocked his head and cupped my cheek with his leathery palm. “You do look tired. And for a Dragon that must mean you're exhausted. Come here.”

He drew me to the bathtub and stepped into the water. A pull on my hand urged me to climb in after him. I did, then sank into the hot water with a sigh.

Aras grabbed a cloth and soap, then sat down behind me. I looked down at his thick thighs, the muscles more clearly defined by wet fur. Under the water, his lower legs were the opposite, their fur sticking out to undulate. My gaze followed one calf down to his foot. As with his hands, the claws were retracted, but I knew they were there. And they were deadly. That hardly mattered to my beast. He still saw Aras as someone to protect. My mate was strong, and I was proud of that, but I was stronger. I had to push down the words that threatened to rise. Words promising safety and comfort. I wanted to make vows to care for him forever. I wanted Aras to know that no one would ever hurt him. Knowing my mate, he would either laugh or be offended. So maybe it was better that I hadn't told him of the mating.

“Your muscles are like rock,” Aras said as his hands kneaded soap into my back. “Fuck, Ly. I know you want this thing badly, but you need to relax a little. You'll have it.” His hands slid down, then around my waist to pull me back against his chest. “I won't stop until Ensarena's Eye is yours.”

I sighed and relaxed against him. His hands moved over my chest, washing me and idly playing with my nipples. My cock twitched.

“None of that now,” Aras teased. “At least let me finish bathing you.”

“Hurry,” I growled over my shoulder.

Aras bent his head and kissed me. He still tasted like rum and chocolate, even after all the hours we had spent in bed. Even after the meal we shared and the wine we drank. Was his natural flavor this sweet? I swept my tongue over his and turned to face him. Too late. I couldn't wait now. The magic was rising.

Thank the Goddess, my mate was rising too.

Using Water Magic, I parted the bathwater around Aras's lap.

Aras pulled back from our kiss and looked down in shock. “What the fuck?”

“I don't want the water to wash away your lubricant.” I grinned at him.

“I get that. That's not what I'm questioning.”

“It's Water Magic, Aras.” I took his hand and led it to his cock. “Would you like to see what else I can do?”

“Fuck, yes, I would.” He held his cock straight for me to mount. “Show me everything, Ly.”

I chuckled and said, “Maybe not everything. I'll want to save some tricks for later.”

Then I slid down onto Aras while I lifted us on a rolling platform of condensed water, angling him back a little while supporting my thighs. The water did the work for me, moving me up and down on Aras, taking me further down than I could have gone with a mattress below me.

It was magical, wondrous, and the best sex of my life. What made it even better was knowing that it was just the beginning.